Fuga: MelodiesofSteel is a hodgepodge of JRPG and visual novel elements. From JRPG in this project: turn-based battles, a complex combat system and leveling system, a good (by the standards of the genre) plot and all this is seasoned with a small amount of grind, which is purely optional, and does not suffocate the player with its presence. Elements of a visual novel show themselves in the chosen stylistic course of the project. I’ll warn you right away, this product is not for everyone, especially if you don’t like JRPGs with all the pros and cons of this genre.

Plot

The plot begins with meeting the main characters. They are all children. They live in the country of Gasco, the village of Petit Mona and generally lead a childlike, carefree life. However, at one moment all this collapses and the state of their affairs changes radically. Their country is attacked by the Burmese Empire, their relatives are kidnapped, but the children manage to avoid such a fate, because at the moment of the attack on their village, a mysterious voice on the radio warned them that they need to flee to a cave outside the city. In this cave there was a tank, forgotten and overgrown with moss, although not even a tank, but a whole steel fortress. The main characters were able to start it up and thus they set off on a journey across the entire captured country to save their relatives.

Separately, I note that the beginning (the first chapter and yes, the narrative has a chapter structure and it is linear) turned out to be quite emotional, even at some point I put the gamepad aside and tried to digest what happened on the screen.

A few words about local lore. There are certain problems with its presentation within the game. From chapter to chapter, the player is given notes and new entries in the glossary describing events in the world and the world order. Everything seemed clear. But when you open the NG+ mode, the player opens two additional sections with new notes and, accordingly, information about the world of the game. Personally, although I liked the game world as a whole, I didn’t immediately replay the project for the sake of a new batch of notes; I’ll put it off for later.

There is also a separate category of notes that has its own series of comics, which the player receives throughout the entire playthrough

In general, the plot has a strong foundation and does not fall apart during the passage, although it sags in places. An entire segment of chapters follows the same scenario: you find a new character, kill another representative of the Berman empire who gets in the way, and so on several times. And, perhaps, this is the main drawback of the local narrative. The ending in the game is also not bad, it even has a basis for the second part, which at the time of writing the review had already been announced and what was shown is even more intriguing.

A guide on how 12 children can control a steel fortress

I’ll start with the most important aspect – the combat system. The combat in the project is turn-based. The player is given four weapons to control: a machine gun (blue), a grenade launcher (yellow) and a cannon (red) and one more special weapon. Two characters are responsible for controlling each weapon: the first gives active skills, the second gives a passive bonus. Bunches of characters have their own ultimate ability, which can be used when filling a special scale during the battle. And all this splendor must be used against a variety of Berman machines.

Example battle https://polobingocasino.co.uk/games/ process

There are many types of opponents in the game, there are bosses. However, repetitions of opponents with changed model colors have not disappeared anywhere, and subsequently some bosses move to the role of ordinary opponents.

T.To. The combat is turn-based, meaning there is a turn order with which the player can actively interact. Buff your characters, use special attacks, or attack opponents with a certain weapon to which a particular vehicle has a vulnerability and thus delay the enemy’s turn until later.

Remember about "special weapons"? The tank also has a fourth cannon, which is activated only in boss battles when the vehicle’s health drops below half. This weapon can end a battle with one shot, not without consequences of course. To activate this cannon, you must sacrifice one team member.

After the first chapter, where we were shown how this mechanic works and the mechanics of rolling back to the last checkpoint, I never used this weapon again during the game. After all, you don’t just push a character into a cannon, but this whole moment is framed with dialogues, and as the game progresses, the characters reveal themselves and you can’t just sacrifice them, you have to overcome what, in fact, the heroes of the game, together with the player, do.

Speaking of heroes. The player is given 12 characters to control and they are all located in the hub, t. e. tank. Over time, characters level up, which gives them new abilities and increases their characteristics. A separate system is used to upgrade the relationships between different members of the squad, which gives new dialogue threads and reveals more about the characters, and together the characters become more effective in battle.

Additionally, there is a small mood mechanic, thanks to which the team receives advantages in battle

I almost forgot – hub. It can also be pumped. If you upgrade your workshop, new tank upgrade levels appear. If you pump up the garden, it brings more and more resources, which are used to prepare various dishes and, in turn, this chain of actions gives buffs in battle. There are also several more compartments in the tank with their own improvements. It is worth noting that activities in the hub have to be chosen carefully, because. To. actions cost AP (20 in total) and it’s simply impossible to do everything in time.

One small mechanic stands out, namely, going to dungeons. Sometimes the player comes across dungeons on the map where three characters can be sent to find loot. Here the player is given direct control of the characters. Overall, the dungeons felt like small puzzles that the player didn’t spend a lot of time on and this diluted the gameplay a bit.

The last point I’ll tell you about the movement system. There are one and a half types of movement: within the chapter and on the global map. According to the global map, everything is simple – after the end of the chapter, the tank drives into the city, there you can talk with different NPCs and exchange trash, and then a new chapter begins.

Inside the chapter everything is much more interesting. The player is immediately shown the further route and events on it. And the further the player follows this path, the more forks open up. The forks themselves have variations. Take the easy path and get less experience or the dangerous one and get more rewards. This is the optional grind that I talked about at the very beginning.

Considering all of the above, I find the gameplay for the most part strong and engaging. However, there are classic sores for the JRPG genre that you either calmly accept, or it’s just not your thing.

Remaining advantages

A system for rating the player’s performance in battle, which increased the experience/items gained, which made it possible to avoid grinding.

Remaining cons

Usually there are several points here, but somehow there is nothing more to add.

Conclusion

Recently, I began to discover the JRPG genre and you know, even though Fuga: Melodies of Steel has only JRPG elements, the authors built everything in their project in such a way that the experience I received is comparable to the experience when I played full-fledged JRPGs. No more, no less, this game turned out to be a very sincere project for me and now I can only wait for the second part, in which, most likely, everything will be the same, but more.